The Islamic State, A Sample Of Things To Come?

By Jack Kelley

http://gracethrufaith.com

Like most students of prophecy I’ve been watching events in Iraq for the last several weeks and wondering what they mean. And like most writers on the subject, I’ve been silent because I haven’t been sure that what’s going on is Biblically relevant. After all, not all current events are foretold in prophecy. Nor do they all fit on a timeline to the 2nd Coming. But after a fair amount of seeking the Lord on this, I think I finally have a glimpse of something worth writing about.

As I said, there’s no end times prophecy into which the current situation neatly fits. The so-called Islamic State (aka ISIL and ISIS) does not currently appear to be some long awaited entity coming to neatly fulfill a popular prophecy, and give us that unmistakably clear sign that we’re not long for the world.

Who Are These People?

Let’s begin with a little background on this group. Although they seemingly came out of nowhere, they had their beginnings during the war in Iraq as part of al Qaida and gained a lot of their current strength and ability fighting against the Syrian army. The USA was actually quite helpful to them in this regard, having funded and equipped them in the hope that they could topple the Assad government without direct American involvement. During this time they’ve grown rapidly to a point where some estimates put their current strength at 80,000 fighters, 50,000 in Syria and 30,000 in Iraq, with thousands of new recruits joining them every month.

Some observers have been wondering if they’re trying to recapture the territory Mohammed originally claimed for Allah. Others say maybe they’re bringing the return of the Ottoman Empire. The Levant, which was originally part of their name (Islamic State In Iraq And The Levant or ISIL), refers to the Eastern Mediterranean and identified their territorial goals as being Iraq plus Syria, Lebanon, Israel and Jordan (see map). But rumors indicate they’re actually looking to become much bigger and have the entire Arabian Peninsula in mind as well. We’ll just call them by their current name, The Islamic State, or IS.

The leader of IS, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, seems to have burst on the scene from relative obscurity and skyrocketed in popularity to a point where his admirers speak of him as the legitimate successor to Osama bin Laden. He has quickly turned thousands of fighters from diverse backgrounds and nationalities, including Western Europe and the US, into a formidable and highly motivated fighting force. Those who have researched his abilities claim he is an educated and accomplished leader with impressive command and control procedures in place that enable fast and efficient communications to and from the battlefield. More than just another terrorist group, the Islamic State is a private army in every sense of the word.

Because of this they’ve been able to roll through cities and towns with remarkable speed. Looting and plundering as they go, they’ve quickly become the wealthiest terrorist organization in the world. They have modern US equipment they stole from the fleeing Iraqi army, and nearly half a billion dollars in hard cash they’ve taken from various banks. They now control seven oil fields which they operate to help sustain themselves. By some accounts they are consistently selling as many as 40,000 barrels of oil on the black market, generating about $2 million in revenue each day. The potential already exists to double this production. These things give them a level of autonomy other groups can only dream about. Current internal reports show them with assets in the $2 billion range.

Like conquerors of the Middle Ages they’re inhumanely cruel. Mass murders of adults and children involving live burials, crucifixions and beheadings have been reported, as have the wholesale rape of captured women and girls, driving people from their homes, and forcing them to convert or die. In an effort to “cleanse” their captured territories they’re wiping out ethnic groups they consider to be beyond conversion or subjugation, whether Christian, pagan, or even Islamic groups with whom they disagree.

In a nutshell they are brutally efficient, brooking no resistance, a law unto themselves, answerable to no one, threatening everyone, primitive and sadistic, evil personified. To say the world is shocked and afraid is an understatement.

What Are People Saying?

To show you why people are afraid, here are some reports I’ve read in the world press just this week that will help us see how easily current events could escalate into a full blown war.

The Islamic State believes Saudi Arabia is vulnerable and if they fall the whole Arabian peninsula could come under IS control. This has become a stated goal of IS strategists. Imagine what that would mean to the world’s oil supplies. The already fragile economies of the world could easily be devastated.

If the Islamic State continues to threaten Lebanon, Hizbollah will have to abandon Syria to protect their homeland. If that happens Syria will fall leaving 50,000 IS fighters on the Jordanian and Israeli borders.

Spanish police just arrested a group of Islamic State recruiters whose goal is to develop a fighting force sufficient to bring Spain under IS control.

The Islamic State already has agreements with Mexican cartels to bring IS operatives into the US. Texas Gov. Rick Perry believes some of them could already be here.

Islamic State engineers are working on an explosive device that can level a whole city at once, and have plans to use it in the US.

Speaking of the Islamic State, General Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff said, “This is an organization that has an apocalyptic end-of-days strategic vision and will eventually have to be defeated.”

Past and present defense and military leaders are publicly urging the US to form a coalition of nations for the purpose of defeating the Islamic State now, while they can be defeated. They say the longer we wait the more difficult it will be.

What Does This Mean?

Is the Islamic State really leading the world down the path to Armageddon? Some people who don’t know the future are beginning to think that way. So let’s take a quick look at the future we know is coming because the Lord has already revealed it to us. We’ll use Rev. 6 as our guide.

The White Horse (Rev. 6:1-2)

read more at Rapture Ready:

http://raptureready.com/featured/kelley/jack331.html